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A gaping hole has taken the place of the once towering south wall of a celebrated downtown Belleville landmark.

Since work began Monday, demolition crews have torn through the majority of the outer red brick barrier of the fire-ravaged Quinte Hotel, exposing its charred collapsed innards.

It is not yet known when the building will be deemed safe so investigators can enter the structure to determine the cause of Friday's blaze, fire officials said Wednesday.

That process will dictate when the closed roadways and cordoned off areas around the scene will reopen for public use. Forecasted snow is is also expected to hamper efforts.

“There are no tentative dates on when the streets will reopen,” said said Acting Fire Chief Mark MacDonald. “There is a possibility of opening up part of the street to allow some bypass traffic.”

As crews dismantle the south quadrant of the city's oldest hotel, more information continues to surface about recent bankruptcy proceedings and a litany of issues including structural, fire and electrical woes, stalling attempts by the new owners to start welcoming guests to the historical hotel.

MacDonald said, from his knowledge, the new owners were working to bring the building up to fire code standards. While the ground floor restaurants were allowed to open, there was still some outstanding work to be completed before the rooms could be occupancy-ready, he said.

“They were working with different agencies to complete renovations to the building,” MacDonald said, addressing code compliance. “It was an ongoing issue at the time of the fire. That's why the building did not have people staying in the rooms.”

Court documents revealing bankruptcy proceedings involving the hotels previous owners show it had been valued at $7.9 million in 2007 before falling into receivership. Mayor Neil Ellis confirmed that the building was sold to the current owners for about $1.9 million earlier this year.

“The new owners bought it from the receivers (PricewaterhouseCoopers),” he said.

Ellis said considerable funds had been invested since then to rectify a plethora of problems including issues with asbestos and mould, a leaking laundry room roof, and a malfunctioning boiler. Some of the issues were addressed prior to the sale to the current owners.

“What they were doing now was trying to get the building up to fire and building code,” Ellis said. “That's what was holding the building up.”

Ellis said several upgrades such as door replacements were done to remedy some of the fire code issues. The owners still had to install emergency exits to bring the building up to today's standards.

In the last month the owners had several meetings with building and fire officials in a quest for compliance, Ellis said.

“Unfortunately, there was a fire,” the mayor said. “Now there is a different path.”

The ownership is under a numbered Ontario company, but principals include Suthagini Ramesh and Ramesh Vinoharan.

Pieces of brick and debris tumbled onto the roadway below, as excavation equipment was used to pluck blocks of the gutted monument from its main frame, late into Wednesday night.

The objective is to level the burnt remains down to basement level, where the upper floors had fallen and come to rest during whats called a “pancake-type collapse with floors stacked on floors,” MacDonald said.

“The outer walls facing the street have to come down to at least the second floor,” he said. “There's a back wall that's into the alcove area that has to be pushed out sometime tomorrow (Thursday).”

Two investigators from the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office were at the scene assisting MacDonald and his team with ongoing efforts to stabilize the structure for entry.

“The objective is to have the destabilized walls down by Friday morning and have enough safety around the scene, so investigators can go in to have a better look,” he said.

He said the process has gone smoothly so far, with two staffers using an aerial truck to spy down at potential hazards, to warn ground crews in advance.

A dedicated radio channel is used to share information on the movement of the various parties, including crane operators, partaking in the demolition.

“It's going very well,” he said. “I'm pleased that we've managed to get most of the debris to the outside.”

Firefighters encountered flames on the second floor about 30 minutes after crews both city fire halls arrived shortly after midnight on Dec. 21. Crews were forced to retreat from the burning innards when they were confronted by heavy black smoke.